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Page 22, Whitby Free Press, Wednesday, March 2, 1M9 fiuI1is tiRou Winds toppled St. Mark's steeples By Brian Wmnter Town et Whitlby Archyivist Mther Nature played a cruel April Fo&l'- joke on Whitby 66 e, ago when she destroyed the majesticse les on St. Markes United ur. Many Whitby residents are not aWare that "hi well-lcnown landmark once had steeples. The taller of the steeples, on the northwest tower, was 165 feet hWgh 25 feet taller than the' steeple* en AilSaints' Anglician, Church. The. smaller steeple on them ortheast tower was 90 feet high. Thei.-church, oiginally called the Methodist Tabernacle, was built in 1875-76 as W;Mhy's largest religiaus ediface, replacing an earlier Methodist church at Centre sud Mary streets. The architect was C.M. Mulligan of Haemltan, Ont.' The . fi-st week of April 1919 was particularly, disastrous for Southern Ontarioi as high winds and severe flooding caused thousands of dollars of darnage. TMe gale-force wind of April 1 which tappled the church steeples was folowed a few days later by heavy. raine which- washed out roads and bridges- fromt Pickering ta Bowmanville, in the worst floods the district had'seen since 1890. On> the.morning of Api-il 1, 1929, a steady wind began ta blow from' the west, and by early afternoon it had reached gale-farce. A number of citizens had noticed the.United Churchsteeple swaying back sud forth in the wind, and the danger of it.fafling was clearly-evident. Town, engineer Herbert Pringe and police chief Herbert Gunson arrivedl on,the scene sud set up rope --berrners ta keep back the crowd that had already gathered. In the mid-afternoon, the wind tare a large hale at the base of the steeple. At 5:45 p.m. the spire was seen ta tilt ta, the southeast. For a brief second it hung in the balance, then crashed against the email steeple and toppled onto thelanin fot ofthe chch on Coîborne Street.1 The church was otherwise undamaged except, for a few broken window panes. Great relief was expressed that, the steeple had not fallen through the roof. A number of church officiais, including the ninister, Rev., Ai-chie L. Richards, were. at the scene ta watch the steeple fail. As, word passed aroumd town that the steeple had fallen, an even larger crowdassembled. A few small boys i-an forward ta grab some shingles as souvenirs, but were warned away by Gunson and the night watchman, John Thomas, who had been called ta assist the chief in crowd control. It did not take church officiais long toa at after the storm.* ,On April 3,, the small steeple on the northeast tower was declared unsafe and toi-n down under the 'supervision of a local contractaci-, Russell J., Underwood. A stout Tope sud block-and-tacle were used ta accomplish the job and the second steeple feU in almoot exactly the .saine spot as the firet. It wasý estimated that it would - cost $1,O0O ta replace the large steeple. Tùs was far toc> much for a church*ta afford in 1929, so the board of stewards decided ta place brick battiements on the northwest tower, and leave the northeast tawer as it was, because there.was 'no damage ta the brickwork..- Underwood- was- given the contract for the job. THE METHODIST TABERNACLE with itsi appeared circa 1890. majestic spires, as if -Whiby Archives Photo An.wspaffe'rOrporter .wryy commented at, the time: «Unlike steeples (the battiements) will not be visible for a distance, but on the other hand they wxll more readily resist wind stmsi3." The. great wind stan» of April 1, 192 was lfowed by heavy rains on April 5 and 6, wbich washed out bridges ini Pickerig, Oshwa and Bo;wmnville. But exceptfofodigaLydan Pringlecrea therewa no more serious damage iii Whtb. The majestic spires of St. Markes United Church are but a fading memory now. Fortunately there, are many photographs of the church before the steeple feU, Which are kept in thxeTowof, Whitby Archives in the Centennial Building. It is unlikely the steeples will ever be replaced, for the cost would be too great~, and there are few builders who can construct church spires today. Experience Whitby's architec- tural past on the Local Architec- tural Conservation Advisory Committee's heritage house tour on Saturday June 10.' Tickets ill be, available May 1 at the Whitby municipal build- mng. DWD YOU KNOW' That Mary Street was naxned after Mary (Ham) Perry (1795-1881), wife of Whitby's founder '*Peter Perry. The land surrounding Mary Street was owned by Peter Perry, who established a store at Brck >and Dundas streets (where the Bank of Commerce is now), in 1836. John Street is named after his second son, John Ham Perry (1827-1896). r Tomorrow there11be twi.ceas may0oo reasons w e're intoduing NeighbourS. today. TJ"hanks to th e great strides made in modemn medicine, the number of people over 85 wiii more than double in the next 15 years. As Ontario'spopulation grows older, more and môre people wvill reiy on in-home services. Services like nursing, meal programs, physio- therapy and homemaking. Seniors, people writh physical disabilities and others want the choice of staying in their own homes. But our current system simply won't meet the demand. What could be more comforting than being cared for in familiar surroundings? On a street you know. Around people you love. Surrounded by those things that-are so much part of your life. We need to make sure today that in-home services wiIl be available tomorrow. That's why we're introducing Neighbours. Neighbours is a community approach to home and health services for independent living. For the first time, a full range of services will be available with one phone cali in communities NEIGHBOURS- HOME AND HEALTH SERVICES FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING. ail across the province. Neigljbours is'planned and managed by elected volunteers from your own community. They are people who live in the community and understand it. There are no govemment appointees on the board. Whether you're sorneone who relies on in-home services, a concemed relative or friend, a-caregiver or somneone who would simply like to help, we want you to know ail about Neighbours. Or if you would simply like to get involved in Ontario's community approach to long-term care, cali one of the telephone numbers below. 1-800-268-1154. IN TORONTO (416) 314-5518. TYY 1-800-387-5559. --r Ilý Cf). Ontario